Free Ticket No. 9672 by Jules Verne Page B

the wilds of the Telemark; so Dame Hansen on receiving such a
widely known and highly esteemed guest, thought it only proper to tell
him how highly honored she felt at having him under her roof, if only
for a few days.
    "I don't know that I am doing you much honor, Dame Hansen," replied
Sylvius Hogg, "but I do know that it gives me great pleasure to be
here. I have heard my pupils talk of this hospitable inn for years.
Indeed, that is one reason I intended to stop here and rest for about
a week, but by Saint Olaf! I little expected to arrive here on one
leg!"
    And the good man shook the hand of his hostess most cordially.
    "Wouldn't you like my brother to fetch a doctor from Bamble?" inquired
Hulda.
    "A doctor! my little Hulda! Why! do you want me to lose the use of
both my legs?"
    "Oh, Mr. Sylvius!"
    "A doctor! Why not send for my friend, the famous Doctor Bork, of
Christiania? All this ado about a mere scratch, what nonsense!"
    "But even a mere scratch may become a very serious thing if not
properly attended to," remarked Joel.
    "Well, Joel, will you tell me why you are so very anxious for this to
become serious?"
    "Indeed, I am not, sir; God forbid!"
    "Oh, well, He will preserve you and me, and all Dame Hansen's
household, especially if pretty little Hulda here will be kind enough
to give me some attention."
    "Certainly, Mr. Sylvius."
    "All right, my friends. I shall be as well as ever in four or five
days. How could a man help getting well in such a pretty room? Where
could one hope for better care than in this excellent inn? This
comfortable bed, with its mottoes, is worth a great deal more than
all the nauseous prescriptions of the faculty. And that quaint window
overlooking the valley of the Maan! And the stream's soft, musical
murmur that penetrates to the remotest corner of my cozy nest! And the
fragrant, healthful scent of the pines that fills the whole house! And
the air, this pure exhilarating mountain air! Ah! is not that the very
best of physicians? When one needs him one has only to open the window
and in he comes and makes you well without cutting off your rations."
    He said all this so gayly that it seemed as if a ray of sunshine had
entered the house with him. At least, this was the impression of the
brother and sister, who stood listening to him, hand in hand.
    All this occurred in a chamber on the first floor, to which the
professor had been conducted immediately upon his arrival; and now,
half reclining in a large arm-chair, with his injured limb resting
upon a stool, he gratefully accepted the kindly attentions of Joel
and Hulda. A careful bathing of the wound with cold water was the only
remedy he would use, and in fact no other was needed.
    "Thanks, my friends, thanks!" he exclaimed, "this is far better than
drugs. And now do you know that but for your timely arrival upon the
scene of action, I should have become much too well acquainted with
the wonders of the Rjukanfos! I should have rolled down into the
abyss like a big stone, and have added another legend to those already
associated with the Maristien. And there was no excuse for me. My
betrothed was not waiting for me upon the opposite bank as in the case
of poor Eystein!"
    "And what a terrible thing it would have been to Madame Hogg!"
exclaimed Hulda. "She would never have got over it."
    "Madame Hogg!" repeated the professor. "Oh! Madame Hogg wouldn't have
shed a tear—"
    "Oh, Mister Sylvius."
    "No, I tell you, for the very good reason that there is no Madame
Hogg. Nor can I ever imagine what Madame Hogg would be like, stout or
thin, tall or short."
    "She would, of course, be amiable, intelligent and good, being your
wife," replied Hulda, naïvely.
    "Do you really think so, mademoiselle? Well, well, I believe you! I
believe you!"
    "But on hearing of such a calamity, Mister Sylvius," remarked Joel,
"your relatives and many friends—"
    "I have no relatives to speak of, but I have quite a number of
friends, not counting those I have just made in